Monday, October 29, 2012

After the Republican National convention, S.E. Cupp, who is billed as the lone conservative among three liberals on the MSNBC show The Cycle, expressed outrage over Clint Eastwood's bit with an empty chair starring as Barack Obama. Now, when the subject of a Barack Obama campaign ad that features Lena Dunham blatantly comparing sex with voting for Obama, Cupp is fine with it.

As I wrote at the time, Cupp seems to be coming down with Scarborough syndrome (named after Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough), which can be defined as follows (yes, it's satire):

A condition in which conservatives who are surrounded by liberals every day, find their views increasingly malleable as they incrementally cede what they believe to be minor points in the hopes of gaining acceptance and / or avoiding conflict. This often results in a slow transformation toward the adoption of a new ideology. An interesting dynamic that can help expedite this process occurs when conservatives attempt to challenge the subject on his / her new views. The subject can feel as if he / she is being attacked instead of warned. This, coupled with the subject being defended by his / her newfound liberal friends, facilitates that transformation. Thinking that the conservatives are the ones who changed, the subject identifies even more closely with his / her liberal friends.

In the case of Cupp, all one has to do is look at her reactions in these two instances. She was offended by Clint Eastwood's attempt to use humor at Obama's expense but she's not offended at the Obama campaign's attempt to compare voting for the first time to losing one's virginity in the name of humor.

This is EXTREMELY significant. Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer - perhaps best known for his work on Able Danger and his subsequent battle with the Defense Intelligence Agency - told Fox News that his sources told him Barack Obama was in the situation room and watched the events in Benghazi unfold in real time.

Pay close attention beginning at the 1:00 mark. Shaffer underscores an important point, saying that not only did the incoming video from Benghazi capture everyone's attention but that it was taking place at the height of the work day in Washington (between 4-5pm) when a lot of people would have been around.

Also, take note that both Shaffer and the other guest (Col. David Hunt) say that the decision to act would have come (or not) from the President and through the Secretary of Defense (Leon Panetta). If Shaffer is right, Obama is quite culpable.

This is big, folks. The herd of possible culprits is thinning and Barack Obama appears to be front and center.

Incidentally, Shaffer's personal story is amazing as well. While serving in Afghanistan, he too did more than was required and put himself in harm's way when he didn't have to. It was this trait that largely contributed to his being awarded the Bronze Star.

When he came forward about his work on Able Danger, a program he and his teammates say identified lead 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta one year before the attacks, he was railroaded by his own government. He fought to the end but ended up sacrificing his military career by doing so.